Let Loose
by Getwitthebrogram
Summary: When Link's daughter, Merle, runs away, she only intends to do it for a break. But when an enormous manhunt is pulled together to search for her, she hides away longer than she ever expected, breaking a promise she made to her brother in the process.
1. Escape

**Hey everyone.**

**This is the first Zelda fanfic I've ever uploaded to the internet, so I'm actually kinda nervous about it!**

**If anything about the story seems ripped off from another, I can guarantee you that it was not intentional. I've had this idea for a while and have only began putting it down now. I also got the names 'Merle' and 'Ruven' from a baby names website. They were right next to each other. I will gladly supply the website if asked, but now it doesn't seem necessary. **

**But anyway… I hope you enjoy it. **

* * *

He felt like rushing in there to help her. Help his _wife_. She was in there for hours, with nobody but some of the servants to help her. But every single time he tried, they shoved him back out. It was absolutely no use trying anymore.

As the clock ticked by, the clouds rolled overhead. Gently and slowly. He pointlessly reached for the heavens, feeling helpless. It was like watching a baby cry, but doing nothing to help it whatsoever.

_Wait… a baby cry...?_

"Congratulations, Your Highness," a servant cheerily interrupted him _just_ as he placed the pieces together. "You have a brand new baby daughter."

"Can I see her? Can I see Zelda?" he spat anxiously, his fists clenched tightly. He was shaking vigorously.

The servant laughed. "I don't see why not."

It was like a blur about what happened in between that and holding his new child.

In all of the moments that he had ever experienced that felt absolutely wonderful, that one was definitely one of the best. The whole atmosphere felt extremely fragile, and even if he just spoke one word, he felt it would all shatter to pieces.

A baby girl, _his _baby girl, was cradled in his arms, a tuft of brown-blonde hair on her red, wrinkled head. She was wailing loudly. His own tears were pressing onto his eyes.

"Link," Zelda had murmured from her place on the bed. Her hairline was dotted with beads of sweat. He peered up. She peered at him, and smiled. A most wonderful smile, that lit up her exhausted face, the room, and what seemed to be at that moment, the _world_. A smile that seemed to develop words, even though the only sounds were the cries of the newborn child. Zelda patted the side of the bed.

"Sit down, love," she mumbled, and her husband obeyed as he almost robotically sat on the bed. They both gazed at the child.

The king, the queen, and now, the princess.

The years they raised her seemed to race by. They used the servants help as little as possible, wanting _them, _the rightful parents,to definitely be looked at as the parents and not for the titles to be thrown into the arms of the maids. She was raised well. They had thought they had done an excellent job—same with their son, who was born when their eldest child was nearing the age of four. She had not been the slightest bit jerked by the new arrival and had welcome him with open arms. They figured this was just a slice of the absolutely proof that she had been raised well.

And she had. But as she got older, a thirst grew, a thirst that could not be quenched by water. It was impossible to conquer, for she wanted less, much less than she was receiving.

Less love and more freedom. That is what she wished for.

But it all was somewhat like a gift; you had to be polite and keep it, for it would be rude to send it back or insist you didn't want it.

And she was only _eight years old_ when she came up with a, at the time, temporary solution.

"Where are you going, Merle?" her six year old brother whispered as he was called into his sister's room for an 'important meeting'.

"I'm going on… a vacation, Ruven," the child anxiously replied, sitting next to him on the bed. Her violet eyes were twinkling with excitement and fear, her matted, light brown hair swinging in her face. "But mommy and daddy don't know… it's, um… going to be a surprise. Okay? So you have to _promise _not to tell them. Even if they start crying and begging, you have to promise not to tell them. Okay?"

"Are you coming back?" the six year old interrupted, his bottom lip trembling noticeably.

"Um, yeah," Merle nodded. "I promise I'll come back soon, okay?"

Little did they both know, that was a lie.

"Now_promise_ not to tell, okay?"

"You're just running away, aren't you?" Ruven, at this point, would have begun crying hysterically, but no sound emerged from him. Merle stayed silent, and then nodded back.

"Yes, I'm running away…"

"_Why?_" he murmured, his face turning bright pink.

"Because I _want _a vacation, Ruven, but Mommy and Daddy can't have one right now—" she stopped herself, knowing that lying to her little brother wouldn't make it easier if he found out the truth. She finally sighed and spat out the basics in few words.

"I just_want_ to."

"Okay," Ruven nodded in reply, glad to be handed the truth instead of childish lies molded just for him.

"Now, promise. Please?"

"Okay," he repeated.

"No, you have to _promise_, Ruven!" Merle begged, shaking her little brother gently. "_Promise me!_"

"I promise," he replied. "I promise I won't tell Mommy or Daddy."

"Good boy," she mumbled, tousling his hair. She stared at him wearily.

"Are you going to be okay with this?" she whispered, tears beginning to blur her vision. What was once her brother simply looked like a blob right now.

"Yes, as long as you come home soon." He replied, rocking back and forth on her bedspread. "You are going to come home soon. Promise?"

"_I promise_," she mumbled.

"You promise what?"

"That I'll come _home soon_."

"Okay," he replied, satisfied.

Merle kissed Ruven on his pale forehead. He jerked slightly from some sort of reflex, but he didn't attempt to resist. She felt chilled to the bone compared to his light, yet warm skin. Finally, Merle tore herself away from him and steadily scuffled to another portion of her room, where she picked up a tall, skinny lamp in the corner of the room and smashed the stained glass window.

Ruven yelped as the glass shattered outside, the shards tinkling onto the ground, where they would remain for several days from now. Acting quickly, Merle peered back at her brother, her eyes appearing calm, yet she was shaking furiously.

"I love you, Ruven. Tell Mommy and Daddy I love them, too."

And with that, she slipped out the window.

And she didn't come back.


	2. Run

**If anyone gets confused by how I describe some of the places, like 'northern Hyrule field' and 'east Castle Town gate', I'm using Twilight Princess as a reference. **

* * *

The rhythmic galloping of hooves echoed throughout the vast fields of Hyrule. The straining grunts of the horses were heard only by the riders, but they were not paying attention. For they were all chanting, no, blaring, one single syllable over and over and over again, refusing to stop under any circumstance.

_Merle_. _Merle_. _Merle_.

Across these fields, in a grey castle stacked with in neat layers of stone, sat a sobbing mother, a blank father, and a shaking son.

"Tell us where she went, Ruven," a man dressed in green garb said slowly, picking out the syllables and leaving them separate. "Tell us where she went, _please_."

"I promised," he mumbled. "I promised I wouldn't tell."

"_Ruven_," the man hissed, obviously losing his patience. "Tell us _now_, please."

"_I promised_..."

"_RUVEN!_" the father finally snapped, clenching his wife's hand in one fist and simply balling the other fist up. The child stared at his mother desperately, but she just stared back at him with pleading eyes.

"She just—" he paused, flicking back through the memories sorted in his mind.

"_Now, promise. Please?"_

_"Okay," he repeated._

"_No, you have to promise, Ruven!" Merle begged, shaking her little brother gently. "Promise me!"_

"_I promise," he replied. "I promise I won't tell Mommy or Daddy."_

"_Good boy."_

"--It's nothing," he finished, picking up for his sister obediently. He made a promise and he intended to keep it. His father gritted his teeth, obviously flustered.

"Ruven," he mumbled. "Your sister's life could be at risk right now--"

"—or she could be absolutely fine," Ruven bravely responded, still maintaining to look calm.

"You are a large part of this, Ruven," his father mumbled. Then a flash of fear sparked through his eyes. "...It wasn't _Ganondorf,_ was it…? That took her...?"

"No! It wasn't anything like that! He's dead! It's not possible!"

"Then_ what happened_?"

"I _promised_ not to tell."

* * *

She stumbled over her own feet as she ran through the black of the night, tripping onto the ground. Hooves clopping over the stones. She quickly stood up and raced away, trying to think of just one place where she could be safe.

Stumble. Trip. Get up again. Somewhat agitated, she ripped through the grass and tore through shrubs. Where could she hide? They were tearing Hyrule apart just searching for her.

She would, unfortunately, be in a mess if they found out the truth. Looking back over here shoulder at the castle, she hoped Ruven was keeping his promise.

Why did she want less of care, love and the warmth of a home? Merle had _no _idea. The only thing she was sure of was that living in the plains of Hyrule; she would have no boundaries in the world, whereas living back at the castle, she wasn't allowed off the courtyard.

Finally, she had made it out of the east gate of Castle Town, disguising herself also by shouting out her own name, to fool the rest into thinking that she was a member of the now-growing search party. Now she was in the Hyrule Field. Alone. She had never been out here alone before. In the distance, she saw several men on horses. Attempting to think quickly, she dove to her left and made a break for it.

"Is that her?" she heard a voice in the background. She ran faster.

"I think it is," another voice replied. Maybe they were somehow searching for _another_ little girl and _weren't_ looking at her.

"Merle! Merle, is that you?!"

She ran as fast as her muscles could work. She now recognized her surroundings as the north Hyrulian fields. She actually saw the path to Zora's Domain just yards away. And much to Merle's astonishment, the men on horses were _not _chasing her, yet they were calling for _more men._

What kind of freedom was _this? _

* * *

"Your Highness," an assistant rushed into the room and bowed her head in front of Link, her long, pin-straight brown locks hanging there like a curtain. She peered up at him. "Merle has been spotted… but she's _running away_."

"Merle? What? Running? That's not her. She wouldn't do that. Did they see her face?" Zelda interrupted the conversation.

"I'm not sure of the details, Madam," the assistant bowed again in apology. "All I know is, they saw a girl running and when they called Merle's name, she ran faster."

At this news, Link's face immediately began scowling.

"It probably wasn't her. You don't need the whole army after one little girl when it probably wasn't even _her_. Just send one or two men after her, ask questions, but overall continue how it was."

"Yes, Sir," the assistant bowed and rushed out of the room. Link immediately turned to Ruven when the door closed.

"Ru_ven_…"

"I _promised_. I promised, Daddy," The boy paused, hugging his knees while rocking back and forth over the bed sheets. "But she said she loves us all."

And at this, Zelda burst into tears once more, and Link's scowl melted into a blank expression. Ruven stared at them seriously, wondering where his sister was and how she would leave. Where she would stay. Maybe if she had not smashed the glass, and if she had simply used the door, they would have all still been sleeping soundly and she would be able to rush away in peace. Maybe she wanted it to be dramatic. But why did she want to leave the safety of the castle anyway?

He didn't know.


	3. Why

**A lot of people will be confused by this chapter, but it will be explained very soon, including the name of 'Marla'...**

_

* * *

_

_Eight years passed…_

"_Marla!_" a voice spat angrily, but with a tinge of care. "Would you get off that horse for once and come inside! It's your sixteenth birthday and you're riding on that _horse_? You do that _every single day_! Come inside and have your dinner!"

Oh yeah. Today was her birthday, wasn't it…? Marie wasn't the kindest person in Hyrule, but she really was fit to be a motherly figure. Marla pulled back on the horse, stopping it, and slipping off the side.

"Stay there," she murmured gently to the horse as she closed the gate to the pasture. The horse simply whinnied in response.

Marla shuffled over to the door and opened it, surprised to see most of her family facing her with a cake right in the middle of the table.

"Happy birthday, Marla!" her family cheered in unison. Wow. All of this for her? The cake was even vanilla, not chocolate, which she 'casually' asked for months ago to see if they would pay attention. And they did. Marla instantly began tearing up for more reasons than one. She just remembered one thing. No, dozens of things.

Today marked eight years. Eight years since then.

But she forgot about that when she was asked to blow out the candles. Blow out the sixteen candles. They flickered and wafted, awaiting to be diminished. Deep breath. _Blow._

Eight candles were aflame; eight were sizzled.

"Blow again," a young girl urged, bobbing up and down. "Blow again, Marla!"

And Marla blew again. Steam rose up from the now-nonexistent flames. The younger girl squealed with delight. Marla chuckled.

"Exciting, huh, Sophia?" she joked, playfully ruffling the girl's curly, honey-colored locks. At that moment, an older boy with simple, brown hair that swooped in his face entered the room, his deep blue eyes looking thoughtful and somewhat nervous. "Ma, there's a guy in the back who wants to buy a few _crates_ of milk. _Crates_." he indicated the other room with his thumb.

"_Crates?_ Wow. I knew our milk was good, but _wow_," Marie jokingly responded, scootching back her seat, standing up and brushing invisible dust off of her skirt. "Y'all stay here, 'kay? And make sure Marla doesn't open that gift without me." she said in another serious yet caring tone. "Hunter, come with me to get the milk. My arms are skinny twigs, so I'll have to drag a crate or two. How many does he want?"

"Around three. Four? It don't matter, he said," Hunter replied, shifting his feet slightly, nervously peering at Marla and eying the doorframe to the entrance.

"'Kay, then. Let's get four to get more money," Marie joked as she headed into the back. Hunter trailed behind her, then suddenly froze and looked back over his shoulder. He then peered down at Marla and smiled, his face immediately brightening.

"Happy birthday, Marla."

Marla grinned back. "Thanks, Hunter." He simply nodded in reply and hastily shuffled into the other room.

It was then that Marla noticed what Hunter had looked so displaced about.

A young teenager peered around the doorframe to the entrance of their home. He had patient blue eyes that sparkled in the sunshine streaming through the windows. He had matted blonde hair that sat on his head. Marla's mouth dropped open, her heart dropped into her stomach, and her stomach did the opposite and seemed to rise.

"_Marla,_ huh…?" he mumbled, and then made eye contact with her. "Why?"

* * *

**Argh! Sorry this chapter is so short, but I felt like ending it there. Writer's instinct, I guess.**

**Next chapter will be flashbacks of what happened, breaking off the suspense of the now. Haha, sorry. **

**Thanks for all of the reviews, the story alerts and the enthusiasm! This story has 3 story alerts and one of my others, More Than What Meets the Eye, has 4. And this story is barely started yet!**

**(Oh, I kinda pictured Hunter like Rex Goudie. Heehee.)**


	4. Out of her Shell

"Help me

"_Help me."_

_She collapsed to the ground and curled into a tight ball. The grass of the fields of Hyrule never felt so… she couldn't explain it. They had never felt so… there._

_She hadn't cried in days. She really needed to cry. _

_So she cried._

_The earth absorbed her tears. She felt it was a grave for her soul. It seemed to drain and seep into the ground. Everything felt lost. And she was only eight years young._

_Why on earth did she run away anyway? Why? She wanted to turn back and go home, but she had one of those feelings that you couldn't quite place your finger on why you were feeling that way. So she didn't go back. She was going to stay here until she felt free. That was her goal._

_She wanted to lie there and cry forever. But it wasn't mere minutes later that a clacking carriage began bumbling by, stopping at the sight of the frightened child._

"_Hey, hey, honey," a comforting female voice drifted into her ears. "What's wrong?"_

"_Help me. Help me, please." The girl peered up at the voice. It was a woman with long, wavy brown hair. She looked to be in her late thirties. _

"_Help what? Help you with what?" The woman's face was puckered with worry for the shivering child._

_Merle wanted to confess all to this passing stranger, but the risk of any other knowing was too high. The other woman looked hesitant and patient. The others in the carriage, however, looked the exact opposite. Two young boys, one appearing to be in his early teens and the other appeared to be about eight years old. Beside them, an infant lay burbling in its basket. Even the older man (the husband, Merle guessed) looked impatient. _

"_Maaa," the older boy wailed. "Who cares about her? We really needs to get to home, cause you know—"_

"_Hunter!" the woman snapped. "We have no reason to be goin' home right this minute and you knows it. Y'all are a bunch of impatient…" she stumbled with her words. "…people."_

"_Honey," the man cautiously began. "You're not gonna take this here little girl home with us, are you? For keeps, I mean?"_

"_Would it matter if I did?" the woman snapped once more. The man shook his head once more, but cautiously started again._

"_I'm just sayin'," he bit his lip for several seconds. "Who's her parents and all that? Does she even want to come back? What's she even doin' out here all alone in the middle of the field?" He peered down into the child's anxious face. "The skeletons comes out at night, m'dear." _

"_I know," the little girl replied._

"Then why are you out here?" the boy called Hunter's face was sprinkled with more concern now. "Who's your mom and dad?"

_Merle couldn't make herself say._

_So she lied._

"_I don't know," Merle whispered. "I can't remember."_

"_Ah," the patient man stroked his beard. "Fairy-led, were ye?" Merle couldn't tell if he was joking or not, so she simply nodded. He chuckled. "I guess we could take you in, but only 'til we finds your mommy and daddy. Okay?"_

"_By the way," the woman interrupted, "Do you remember your name?"_

"_Marla," the girl spat out all too quickly. _

_The two younger children nodded and helped squeeze Merle in the seat beside them. The older woman sat in her original place and the carriage continued on its journey to a small farm out of Hyrule territory. Their journey back home._

Back in the present, after a brief but powerful clipping of her life flashed before her eyes, her heart couldn't remove itself from her mouth.

_A young teenager peered around the doorframe to the entrance of their home. He had patient blue eyes that sparkled in the sunshine streaming through the windows. He had matted blonde hair that sat on his head. _

"_Marla,__ huh…?" he mumbled, and then made eye contact with her. "Why?"_

. And even as this blonde-haired sea-eyed young man was leaning on the doorway back in the present, she realized he knew more than her current family ever knew. Because she had broken a promise to this man eight years ago.

_**To get the ending, you have to read the ending of the previous chapter.**_

_**The ages of the kids are confusing, I know, but I'll write them here…**_

_**Hunter – 21 in real time, 12 in this chapter**_

_**Reagan (not yet really introduced) – 17 in real time, 8 in this chapter**_

_**Nell (not yet really introduced) – 8 in real time, just several months old in this chapter**_

_**Sophia – 5 in real time, not born yet in this chapter (will be born three years in the future)**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	5. Shower

The young man at the doorway stood still. So did everyone else. Even time seemed to halt in its place, even though time stops for no being. Marla was bug-eyed; the boy leaning on the doorway was cool and collected with a drop of annoyance in his expression. Young Sophia stared up at them, confused.

"Do you two know each other?" she asked. "Are you Marla's friend?" She pointed a tiny finger at the boy in the door. Marla clenched her teeth. _Please let this be some sort of mistake. I'm not the only one around here with violet eyes, am I? Oh my, his eyes are almost exact color as mine. Please let this be some sort of sick mistake. Sick, sick mistake…_

Hunter then shuffled in the room, sweating from the effort of hauling a milk crate into the room. He broke the silence with a steady _clunk _as he dropped the crate on the floor. "Woo!" he exclaimed breathlessly. "That's heavier than you'd think."

Marie followed him dragging two crates in the room, her rear end in the air as she struggled as well. Hunter stumbled into the back room to get the final crate, his back aching.

"I'll get that last one," the stranger called out, slipping after Hunter into the back room. Marla's legs began to crumple from beneath her. Marla sprinted in the hallway, to her, Sophia and Nell's (her eight year old sister) room, to avoid falling to the ground from lack of oxygen. Sophia ran after her as fast as her tiny legs could carry her.

"REAGAN! COME HERE! SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH MARLA! SHE LOOKS SICK!" Sophia screamed out, her piercing voice outshining that of her tiny frame. In the room next to them several loud, hurried clunks were heard and the door slammed _open _as the seventeen year old came in.

"Marla?" he mumbled quietly, advancing his shivering, pale sister, both fear and care in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Reagan was identical to Hunter in many ways, long brown hair swinging in his eyes, shady blue eyes that usually had a mischievous flame to them. He was only one year senior to his sister and they got along better more than anyone else in the family. One story Marie told time and time again was when Reagan punched a boy in the mouth who picked on Marla. "_Knocked out three of that boy's teeth, Reagan did,_" Marie would proudly repeat. "_Never took nothin' from nobody. We never saw that one boy or his family no more._" But right now it didn't matter. Reagan had never seen his sister so hysterical. She looked like the literal weight of the world was on her shoulders. He reached for her and suddenly she buckled and collapsed directly into his arms, and he slowly slid to the floor, holding Marla in his lap, stroking her light brown hair. They both sat there on the wooden floor, Reagan clutching Marla so tight she couldn't breathe even if she wanted to now.

"What's wrong?" he whispered in her ear. Marla hated making him so concerned. She finally started breathing again and sat up, still shaking violently.

"I know who that is," she shakily murmured. "He… I… promised him… he trusted me."

"Uh huh," Reagan mumbled in a confused tone, "But explain a little more, honey."

_Honey. _She felt like crying all over again. Reagan trusted her too. He loved her, so did everyone else. If word got out she was here and they took her back to Hyrule, she would leave them all with lost lies in their minds and grief in their hearts. _"She knew all along," _they would say. _"She knew all along and didn't tell us. She didn't trust us."_

Marla laid her head back on Reagan's chest and began sobbing. Not gut-wrenching sobs, but small, helpless choking sobs. She tearfully looked up at a now-stunned Sophia.

"Please, Sophia," she murmured, "Please leave. I'll tell you later. Don't tell anyone about this, please."

Sophia couldn't deny the demands of her hysterical sister, so she slowly shuffled out of the room and closed the door behind her. They listened to the pattering of her feet as she walked down the hall. Finally, Marla choked out everything. Everything she had ever held in, the rest only partly known by Ruven.

"I _am_ that one girl that went missing from the Royal Family and that guy is my brother, Ruven, and I left them because I wanted to run away and be free but when you guys took me in I just couldn't leave, see," she rushed out, "Because you were one of the best things that ever happened to me. I was free! So free, and I could ride horses all across the land and they would conceal me to the courtyard back there. You guys wouldn't care and I had everything I ever wanted. But I can't just go back, they'd be hysterical, and you'd be even more so." She finally finished, then gulped down another sob. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for lying that one day eight years ago. It… _haunts_ me so. And my name is Merle, not Marla. I'm so, so, so, _so_ sorry."

Reagan instantly felt like he was punched in the face. So much information, so much _precious _information that was too delicate to handle or even comprehend right away, flooded into his ears and then smacked into his brain. He was at a loss for _emotions, _and his mind plucked and tore desperately at his soul like a lappet-faced vulture for any sort of reaction.

And finally, he found one. A suitable one at that.

He calmly stroked her hair some more, then looked at the small area of grease in the roots of her brown hair. Marla didn't like washing her hair. She hated the sudden drops in temperature the outside shower sometimes had. He stared at this area of her hair as if his life depended on it. Finally, he stood up, sending Merle-not-Marla to the floor.

"Marla, we are washing your hair."

"…_What?_"

"You just have to stick your head under the stupid pump thing. Now come on."

It seemed like the only way to deal with it was to change the subject entirely.


End file.
